Tunesia–Angry Connected Young People

07 Other Atrocities, 08 Wild Cards, Advanced Cyber/IO, Civil Society, Counter-Oppression/Counter-Dictatorship Practices, Cultural Intelligence, Peace Intelligence, Reform

People power goes techie, ousts Tunisian dictator

Philippine Daily Inquirer First Posted 01:25:00 01/16/2011

Seeds of protest

The antigovernment protests began a month ago when a college-educated street vendor named Mohamed Bouazizi in the small town of Sidi Bouzid burned himself to death in despair at the frustration and joblessness confronting many educated young people here. But the protests he inspired quickly evolved from bread-and-butter issues to demands for an assault on the perceived corruption and self-enrichment of the ruling family.

The protesters, led at first by unemployed college graduates like Bouazizi and later joined by workers and young professionals, found grist for the complaints in leaked cables from the US Embassy in Tunisia, released by WikiLeaks, which detailed the self-dealing and excess of the president’s family. And the protesters relied heavily on social media websites like Facebook and Twitter to circulate videos of each demonstration and issue calls for the next one.

Read full article….

Review: SMS Uprising: Mobile Activism in Africa

23 Worst Tyrants/Dictators (Yes, there’s more than 23) and Oops, there’s Saudi Arabia..

Review: Breaking the Real Axis of Evil–How to Oust the World’s Last Dictators by 2025

2011/01/152011/01/15

Worth a Look: State of the World 2011 (Focus on Food)

Worth A Look

cover state of the world 2011 — Amazon Page

Known for tackling the most pressing issues that face our world, the Worldwatch Institute has dedicated the 2011 edition of its flagship report to a compelling look at the global food crisis, with particular emphasis on what innovators globally can do to help solve a worldwide problem. State of the World 2011 not only introduces us to the latest agro-ecological innovations and their global applicability but also gives broader insights into issues including poverty, international politics, and even gender equity.

2011/01/152011/01/15

Food Chain Breaking at the Bottom

01 Agriculture, 06 Family, 07 Health, 07 Other Atrocities, 11 Society, Civil Society, Earth Intelligence, Key Players

Activists from India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) women's wing shout slogans against the Congress-led government during a protest against an increase in milk, vegetables and food prices in New Delhi on April 1, 2010. The BJP activists protested against the price hikes of essential commodities. Food inflation is still at 17 percent according to official figures.

Global food chain stretched to the limit

Soaring prices spark fears of social unrest in developing world

By John W. Schoen Senior producer

msnbc.com msnbc.com

Strained by rising demand and battered by bad weather, the global food supply chain is stretched to the limit, sending prices soaring and sparking concerns about a repeat of food riots last seen three years ago.

Signs of the strain can be found from Australia to Argentina, Canada to Russia

Read full story with links….

Phi Beta Iota: Absent a radical break-through in energy that enables water desalination and purification, the combined collapse of the global financial system and the global food system could mark the beginning of a quarter century of “tribulation.”

2011/01/152011/01/15

BLOG WISDOM: Chance Favors the Connected Mind…

Blog Wisdom, Movies, YouTube

Chance favors the connected mind.

by jonl on January 14, 2011

Steve Johnson in an animated conversation (literally) derived from the juices flowing through his book, Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation. Ideas grow from slow hunches in collision with each other, and depend on great nurturing ground: coffee houses, salons, etc. I love his conclusion: “Chance favors the connected mind.”

Phi Beta Iota: Simply extraordinary. Worth watching (4:07) more than once.

2011/01/152011/01/15

1961-2011: 50 Years of The Military-Industrial Complex

03 Economy, 04 Inter-State Conflict, 07 Other Atrocities, 10 Security, 11 Society, Corruption, Officers Call, Strategy, Waste (materials, food, etc)

editor spinney time — Chuck Spinney Recommends....

It's a good think Ike is dead… else he would realize his nightmare survived. Chuck

Newsday January 13, 2011 Pg. 34

The Military-Industrial-Congressional Complex

Eisenhower warned against the influence of arms production, but did we listen?

By Bob Keeler

EXTRACT: Now, the deficit has caused some unexpected voices to say, ever so softly, that everything is on the table – including defense cuts. Last week, Gates talked about plans to slow the defense budget's growth by $78 billion over five years. That dainty nibble is a start, but we need big bites. A group called the Sustainable Defense Task Force has laid out ways to cut $1 trillion in 10 years. That's better.

Full story below the line…

And…

Obama Ignores Eisenhower at Country's, World's Peril (Melvin Goodman)

Military-Industrial Complex, Fifty Years On (Leslie Gelb, Council on Foreign Relations)

Continue reading “1961-2011: 50 Years of The Military-Industrial Complex”

2011/01/15

9-11 Expose: General Odom Says CIA “Out of Control”

07 Other Atrocities, 10 Security, 11 Society, Budgets & Funding, Intelligence (government)

Marcus-Aurelius-150x150 — Marcus Aurelius Recommends

I have read the released Odom interview MFR. Odom is not kind (perhaps not fair) to CIA or Gen Mike Hayden. Interview, like all others in extensive series, was done circa 2003-2004. Some prominent military SO names, such as Schoomaker and Boykin are among the interviewees. Extent of redaction ranges from fairly light to very heavy. Pre-sanitization/release original classification of interview MFRs ranges from U to TS//SCI (multiple caveats). As documented, little/no evidence that 9/11 Commission interviewers operated in hostile/coercive manner. Even through sanitization, knowledgeable readers can glean some interesting opinions.

Former NSA Chief Called CIA ‘Out of Control'

The CIA is “out of control” and often refuses to cooperate with other parts of the national security community, even undermining their efforts, said former National Security Agency head William Odom, according to a recently released record of a 9/11 Commission interview.

“The CIA currently doesn't work for anyone. It thinks it works for the president, but it doesn't and it's out of control,” says a report summarizing remarks made by Odom, a retired three-star general who served as director of the NSA from 1985 to 1988.

Odom, who also served on the National Security Council staff during the Carter administration, was known as an outspoken advocate for intelligence reform. He died in 2008.

. . . . . . .

While deeply critical of the CIA, Odom also had harsh words for other NSA directors, including Adm. Bobby Inman, whom he accused of “playing games” in Washington. He also said that Gen. Michael Hayden, then the director of the NSA, was “destroying” the agency and didn't know his “intellectual limits.”

Hayden went on to become head of the CIA in 2006.

Read complete summary article….

Worth a Look: Book Reviews on Intelligence (Lack Of)

2011/01/142011/01/14

Facebook Peaking; People not the Site, Matter Most

Technologies

Facebook hype will fade

By Douglas Rushkoff, Special to CNN

All signs for Facebook appear to be pointing up.

Mark Zuckerberg is Time's Man of the Year, the movie about him seems likely to be an Oscar winner, and now Goldman Sachs is raising $1.5 billion from its favorite investors on behalf of the social networking company.

At the very same moment, Facebook's only real competitor –NewsCorps' waning social networking site, MySpace — is shedding employees and expenses, most likely in hopes of a fire sale.

But appearances can be deceiving. In fact, as I read the situation, we are witnessing the beginning of the end of Facebook. These aren't the symptoms of a company that is winning, but one that is cashing out.

Continue reading “Facebook Peaking; People not the Site, Matter Most”